A team of archaeologists, led by historian Felipe Mejías, has begun excavation work on the site of the former Concentration Camp in Albatera to try to find a mass grave with the remains of people who died of illness or were killed at the Franco prison that housed between 15,000 and 20,000 prisoners during the slightly more than six months that it was open, between 6th April, 1939 and 27th October of that year.
The surveys, with the help of a backhoe machine, focus on the area where archaeologists consider the burials to be, based on witness testimony, to an excavated pit and the remains that were found after the dismantling of the Francoist facility, when the lands were prepared for cultivation.
In addition, although the final results of the geo-radar used a few days ago will not be available for a few weeks, Mejías has a preliminary report that he says is “encouraging”. The results show anomalies of linear and quadrangular forms have been detected that correspond to the foundations of the barracks, and spaces of irregular morphology with powerful fillings, compatible with the existence of a mass grave.
The archaeologist and historian said: “We have located the right place by the given testimonies, and whose definitive existence will now have to be confirmed.”
Very carefully, the machine is digging trenches one metre deep to try to find traces. The work will last well into this week.
In the three weeks of exploration with metal detectors and geo-radar, the team has located numerous materials belonging to the camp’s structures, its barracks and barbed wire, but also personal objects of the prisoners and the soldiers who guarded them including: projectiles, cartridges, coins and cutlery. Also human skeletal remains that a forensic anthropologist will study. The Minister for Democratic Quality, Rosa Pérez, visited the site recently given that her department was responsible for subsidising the project with a 17,600 euro payment. Pérez pointed out that “in addition to locating and exhuming the victims, the Albatera investigation seeks to shed light on one of the most cruel and painful pages of Spain’s post-war period.”